Business Awards

■ AMR Management Services association executive DeLaine Bender has earned the Certified Association Executive credential, the highest professional credential in the association industry. Fewer than five percent of all association professionals have earned the CAE, according to the American Society of Association Executives.

■ Alton E. Blakley, Jr., owner of Alton Blakley Ford Lincoln in Somerset, has earned the Salute to Dealers award from Ford Motor Co. Blakley is one of three North American dealers who received the 12th annual tribute at a ceremony held Feb. 3 at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in Las Vegas. Honorees were selected from among more than 3,000 Ford and Lincoln dealers across the United States and Canada for exhibiting unparalleled dedication to their communities.

Blakley's major focus for community involvement has been improving the quality of life for Somerset-area residents.

■ NACCO Material Handling Group's Berea plant has been named Plant Engineering's 2011 Top Plant. NMHG designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks and aftermarket parts marketed globally under the Hyster and Yale brands.

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